Fluid system for a windlass



June 19, 1962 FIG. I

H. H. STILLEY FLUID SYSTEM FOR A WINDLASS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I I I I l I II Q I 1 Q l I I l I INVENTOR.

HERSCHEL H. 51'! LLEY ATTORNEY June 19, 1962 H. H. STILLEY 3,039,576

FLUID SYSTEM FOR A WINDLASS Z IN V EN TOR.

HERSCHEL H. STILLEY M 1 ma:

ATTORNEY June 19, 1962 H. H. STILLEY FLUID SYSTEM FOR A WINDLASS 4Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 30, 1959 IUPDJU m GE uvwzzvron.

HERSCHEL H. STILLEY BY M (4M ATTORNEY June 19, 1962 H. H. STILLEY3,039,576

FLUID SYSTEM FOR A WINDLASS Filed Dec. 30, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 4

W I 1 IJJ 7 W i 91 I C r 95 o o 92 h 1 L II INVENTOR. HERSCHEL H.STILLEY W @iAJfif ATTORNEY United States Patent ()7 3,039,576 FLUIDSYSTEM FOR A WINDLASS Herschel H. Stilley, St. Joseph, Mich, assignor toClark This invention relates to mechanisms which are described generallyas windlasses, and more particularly to operating and controllingsystems for such mechanism.

The term Windlass may be used to describe various machines employing arotatable drum on which a rope or cable is wound or unwound to provide aforce for hoisting, hauling or performing other work. Some well-knownforms of windlasses are winches, hoists and capstans.

My invention is disclosed herein in a preferred form embodied in amechanism which is commonly called a winch, but it should be understoodthat the disclosure does not limit the scope of the invention and thatit is intended to be applicable to other Windlass mechanisms also.

The object of the present invention is to provide a windlass mechanismwhich is powered and controlled by pressurized fluid, and morespecifically it is an object of this invention to provide a fluid systemfor a Windlass which provides a reliable and effective means for theoperation and control thereof which is yet simpler and less expensivethan previously known systems.

In carrying out my invention in one form I provide a winch which isoperated by a fluid motor. A fluid actuated clutch is provided whichconnects the winch drum to the motor when rotation of the drum isdesired. A brake normally holds the drum stationary but is released byfluid pressure when it is desired for the drum to rotate. A fluid systemis provided having a valve for selectively admitting fluid to the motorfor operating it, and conduit means are provided connected to the valveand including one-way valve means for admitting fluid to and operatingthe brake and clutch simultaneously with each operation of the motor.

Fora clearer and more complete understanding of my invention referenceshould be had to the accompanying drawing in which FIGURE 1 is a sideelevation of a tractor equipped with a side boom hoist including a winchembodying a preferred form of my invention,

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation of the vehicle of FIG. 1 with portions ofit broken away,

FIGURE 3 is a schematic diagram of the fluid circuit of the invention,

FIGURE 4 is a view of the winch which is incorporated in the hoistmechanism on the vehicle, taken along the line 5-5 in FIG. 2, with aportion of the Winch broken away, and

FIGURE 5 is an end view of the winch.

There is shown in the first two figures of the drawing a tractor vehicleindicated generally by the reference numeral having a body portion 11and four rubber-tired wheels 12 (only three of which are shown). Thepresent invention is embodied in the boom hoist mechanism on thisvehicle as explained in'detail hereinafter. The tractor illustrated isprovided with a bulldozer blade 14 at the front together with themounting structure for same and the mechanism necessary for raising,lowering and tilting the bulldozer blade. The vehicle 10 is providedalso with an operators station indicated generally by the numeral 16which includes a seat 18 and an operators steering wheel 20. Included atthe operators station but not shown on the drawing are the pedals andlevers necessary for operating the vehicle and the bulldozer blade.

The machine 10 has a pivotable boom structure 22 mounted on the rightside (facing in the direction the operator faces) and a pivotablecounterweight structure 24 mounted on the left side.

The boom 22 is pivotable in a vertically disposed plane between anapproximately vertical position and a position approaching horizontal asillustrated by the dot-dash lines in FIG. 2 by means of a piston andcylinder type hydraulic actuator 46 which is pivotally connected betweenboom 22 and machine 10.

The counterweight 24 on the opposite side of the machine is pivotallyconnected thereto and movable between the extended position illustratedin solid lines in FIGURE 2 and the retracted position illustrated by thedash-dot lines, by means of a cylinder and piston type hydraulicactuator 68 which is pivotally connected between counterweight 24 andthe machine 10.

The tractor 10 includes a winch 82 preferably attached to boom 22 anddriven by an hydraulic motor for operating a cable 84 in and out over asheave 86 on the outer end of boom 22 to provide for hoisting and otheroperations. The hydraulic motor 83 is inside the portion of the winchhousing indicated by the numeral 88 (see FIG. 4). Through a gear trainin the portion of the winch indicated by a numeral 88 and through ashaft extending through the drum 90 of the winch the motor 83' drivesthe drum 9% whenever the motor is operated and a clutch 92 is actuatedto connect the motor and gear train to the drum. As illustrated theclutch 92 is the type which employs an expandable tube 93 in circulararrangement with friction blocks 95 installed on the outside of thetube, which friction blocks engage a flange portion 91 on the drum andthereby accomplish engagement of the clutch when the tube is expanded byinternal fluid pressure. It will be appreciated however that the presentinvention is not limited to this particular type of clutch and thatother equivalent clutches such as shoe type or multiple disc clutchesfor example may be employed, if desired.

The winch 82 .also includes a brake comprising a band 97 surrounding theflange 91. This band is automatically tightened and the brake applied bymeans of a spring 94 (see FIG. 5) in the absence of fluid pressureacting on piston 96 in cylinder 98. When fluid under suitable pressureis admitted to cylinder 98 the spring is compressed and the bandreleased permitting the drum 90 to turn.

The motor 83 maybe rotated in either direction and the directionofrotation of the motor determines the direction of operation of thedrum 90. It will be understood that cable 84 is wound on drum 90 in onedirection of rotation and unwound .in the other direction of rotation.By such operation the boom hoist drum on the tractor vehicle may beutilized for raising a load, lowering it and other operations normallyperformed with a mechanism of this type. It is desirable also to providefree spooling operation in which the cable 84 may be payed out withoutresistance by exerting a pull at the end of the cable 84 or by securingthe end of the cable 84 to a fixed object and then moving the tractor.The fluid circuit described hereinbelow provides for such operation.

FIG. 3 illustrates schematically the fluid circuit for the winch 82. Inorder to simplify the drawing it has not been attempted to show all ofthe actual hydraulic lines on the vehicle 10. It will be readilyappreciated by those skilled in the art that such connections areprovided in a known manner by'using rigid and flexible tubing asnecessary.

FIG. 3 shows schematically the hydraulic connections and it is explainedin connection with the schematic diagram how the various devicesinvolved are connected into the fluid circuit.

The fluid circuit includes a pump 100 which preferably is, operated inthe usual manner by the engine of the vehicle.

Patented June 19, 1962 This pump is connected by a conduit 102 to supplya bank of four open-center type valves which are indicated respectivelyby the numerals 104, 1%, 108 and 110. It will be appreciated by thosefamiliar with valves that if all four valves are in the neutral positionthe fluid from the pump merely recirculates through the valve bank andback through conduit 112 and conduit 114 to a sump or reservoir 116 fromwhich it is again recirculated by N the pump. When one or more of thevalves are operated pressurized fluid is directed to the respectivedevices to which the individual valves are connected.

, Each of the valves 104, 106, 108 and 110 is operated by a lever andthese levers are indicated respectively by the numbers 195, 197, 109 and111. The operating levers preferably are located near the operators seat13 on the vehicle. Valve 1% is a bidirectional valve and if the lever105 is operated in one direction from the neutral position, fluid underpressure from pump 1% is admitted through conduit 113 to operatehydraulic motor 83 in one direction which is referred to hereinafter asthe winding direction, and returns through conduit 122 to the valve 104from whence it returns through conduits 112 and 114 to the sump. Iflever 105 is operated in the other direction the direction of flow ofpressurized fluid through conduit 122, the motor 83 and the conduit 118is reversed and the motor 83 operates in the other direction andopcrates the winch in the opposite or unwind direction. An exemplarymultiple valve mechanism suitable for this purpose is disclosed in US.Patent No. 2,247,141.

When the motor 83 is operated in the winding direction pressurized fluidalso flows through one-way valve 124, through conduit 126 and through apressure regulator 128. It will be appreciated that pressure regulator128 is not an essential part of the invention but in the typical fluidcircuit described and illustrated herein it was found expedient tooperate the winch motor 83 at 1500 lbs. per sq. in. pressure and thenreduce the fluid pressure by means of pressure regulator 128 to a lowervalue of 400 lbs. per sq. in. for the operation of the clutch and brakeasdescribed in the subsequent paragraph.

After passing through regulator 128 and in this particular case beingreduced in pressure to 400 lbs. per sq. in., pressurized fluid flowssimultaneously through two conduits indicated respectively by thenumerals 130 and 131. From conduit 139 the pressurized fluid passesthrough a valve 132 which is termed herein an unloader valve and thencethrough conduit 134 to the clutch 92. As long as fluid pressure ismaintained in conduit 1350 the unloader valve 132 maintains pressure inthe clutch 92. When pressure is released in conduit 130 the unloadervalve 132 drains fluid from the clutch 92 through conduit 136 back toconduit 114 and thence back to the reservoir 116.

Simultaneously with the operation of the clutch 92, fluid enteringconduit 131 flows through a one-way valve 138 andthence through conduit14% and another unloader valve 142 to the brake 97 for releasing thelatter. As long as pressure is maintained by the pump on the unloadervalve 142 the brake is maintained released. As soon as valve 104 isoperated to cut off fluid pressure to the motor 83 and the clutch andbrake, unloader valve 142 permits fluid to drain from the brake intodrain line 114 and back to the reservoir thus allowing the spring 94 toapply the brake again. An unloader valve having the characteristicsabove mentioned and which is'suitable for use in the system of thepresent invention as either valve 128 or 142 is commercially availableand is manufactured by Waterman Engineering Co., Chicago, Illinois,under their model number E 15 1.

It will be apparent that the operator merely by pushing one lever tooperate the single valve 104- thereby automatically starts the winchmotor, engages the clutch and releases the brake. The direction ofoperation depends upon which way the lever 105 is moved. One-way valve125 passes pressurized fluid for the operation of the clutch and brakewhen motor 83 is energized for unwinding op- 41 eration, the same asone-Way valve 124 does for winding operation. As soon as the lever isrestored to neutral again operation ceases and the mechanism is restoredto its initial position.

If free spooling operation is desired, that is, if it is desired tomerely release the drum so that the cable may be payed out withoutrestriction, lever 109 is moved to operate unidirectional valve 1118.This admits pressurized fluid through a conduit 146, pressure regulator143 and a one- Way valve 150 to conduit 140, and thence through unloadervalve 142 and conduit 144- to the brake 97 to release the latter.One-way valve 138 prevents fluid from passing it and operating the motoror the clutch. When valve 108 is restored to neutral the brake is againapplied through the action of the unloader valve in draining fluid fromthe brake actuator.

If it is desired to pivot the boom up or down the lever 1117 is operatedto move bidirectional valve 106 in the desired direction to admitpressurized fluid through conduit 152 for operating the actuator in onedirection, in which case fluid from the opposite end of the actuator isreturned through conduit 154. The operation of valve 106 in the oppositedirection admits fluid through conduit 154 while fluid is dischargedthrough conduit 152 and the boom actuator moves in the oppositedirection.

The counterweight is operated in a similar manner to the boom actuatorby the operation of lever 111 to move bidirectional valve in the desireddirection to admit fluid through either 156 or conduit 158, with theother conduit serving as a discharge line in each case.

Thus it will be apparent that my invention provides a simple andreliable fluid circuit for a Windlass which is readily assembled and isvery easy for an operator to master and use.

While I have described and illustrated herein a preferred embodiment ofmy invention, it will be appreciated that modifications may be made bythose skilled in the art. It should be understood therefore that Iintend to cover by the appended claims all such modifications which fallwithin the true spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A fluid system for a Windless having a tfluid operated reversiblemotor, a normally applied fluid pressure released brake and a fluidpressure engaged clutch, the fluid system comprising a pump forsupplying pressurized fluid, bidirectional valve means operativelyconnected between said pump and motor for selectively admittingpressurized fluid to the motor for operating it in the desireddirection, and conduit means connected between the said bidirectionalvalve means and the brake and clutch, said conduit means includingone-way valve means therein for admitting pressurized fluid to andoperating the brake and clutch simultaneously with each operation of themotor.

2. A fluid system for a Windlass having a fluid operated motor, anormally applied fluid pressure released brake and a fluid pressureengaged clutch, the fluid system comprising connections to a source ofpressurized fluid, valve means connected to said connections forselectively admitting fluid to the motor for driving the winch, andconduit means connected to the said valve means and including one-wayvalve means therein for admitting fluid to the brake and clutchsimultaneously with each operation of the motor.

3.' A fluid system for a Windlass having a fluid operated reversibledrive motor, a normally applied fluid pressure released brake and afluid pressure engaged clutch, the fluid system comprising a pump forsupplying pressurized fluid, bidirectional valve means operativclyconnected to said pump for selectively admitting pressurized fluid tothe motor for operating it in the desired direction, conduit meansconnected to the said bidirectional valve means and including one-wayvalve means therein for admitting pressurized fluid to and operating thebrake and clutch simultaneously with each operation of the motor,unidirectional valve means operatively connected to said pump foradmitting pressurized fluid to and operating the brake, and additionalone-way valve means in said conduit and associated with the saidunidirectional valve means providing for operation of the brake withoutoperating the drive motor and clutch.

4. A fluid system for a. Windlass having a fluid perated reversiblemotor, a fluid pressure released spring applied brake and a fluidpressure engaged clutch, the fluid system comprising a pump forsupplying pressurized fluid, bidirectional valve means connected to thesaid pump for selectively admitting pressurized fluid to the motor foroperating it in the desired direction, -a first conduit connected to thesaid bidirectional valve and including .a first one-way valve thereinfor conducting pressurized fluid when the motor is operating in onedirection, a second conduit connected to the said bidirectional valveand including a second one-way valve therein for conducting fluid whenthe motor is operated in the opposite direction, the said first andsecond conduits being connected to a third common conduit forselectively directing pressurized fluid thereto, a fourth conduitconnected between the said third common conduit and the clutch fortransmitting pressurized fluid to the clutch and including an unloadervalve therein, the said unloader valve discharging fluid from the clutchin the absence of fluid pressure in the said fourth conduit, a, fifthconduit including a second unloader valve therein for supplyingpressurized fluid from the said third common conduit to the brake forreleasing the brake, said second unloader valve discharging fluid fromthe said brake and allowing it to engage again in the absence of fluidpressure in the said fifth conduit, a unidirectional valve connected tothe said pump, a sixth conduit connected between the said unidirectionalvalve and the said fifth conduit ahead of the said second unloader valveand including a third oneway valve therein for admitting pressurizedfluid through the second unloader valve to the brake for releasing thebrake upon actuation of the said unidirectional valve, and a fourthone-way valve connected in the said fifth conduit between the junctionof the said third common conduit with the said fifth conduit and thejunction of the said fifth and sixth conduits for preventing the flow ofpressurized fluid from the said sixth conduit into the said third orfourth conduits.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSWilsing June 4, 1935

